MC Alan welcomed everyone to the Clash In The Clayton 5 and then invited Promoter Pete Foley to the ring to say a few words about two very well known & respected Martial Artists who passed away in the last few weeks. The first to be mentioned was Scott Marsden, a young English Kickboxer who died a few weeks ago in the UK at the age of fourteen.

It was Scott’s birthday today (2 April) and he would have turned just fifteen years old. Also a special mention was given for Galway Kickboxing coach Denis Brosnan who sadly passed away on St Patrick’s day and the audience were invited to stand for a minutes silence in respect for both these fallen heroes.

The show got underway and Produced some quality fights and some great stoppages also. Alex Fitzpatrick was the fighter of the night and at the tender age of 14 years, he gave a master class in International Rules (Low Kick) today. Some nasty low kicks & some fantastic head kicks coupled with good boxing skills and great composure – this kid has a bright future.

Colm Dunphy was also on fire and after a shaky start, he really teed off on his opponent and landed some great punches and solid low kicks to take a TKO victory. Dara Mannion was back to winning ways also and stopped his opponent hard in the first round. Peter Sheppard had a war with Joe Crosse from Ennistymon and took a good points win. Sean Ryan was tested in his bout with Carlows Joe Walton but still came away with the nod. Rachel Murray had a tough first round but weathered the storm and fired back in round two & three but lost narrowly on points.

Sean King had a great scrap with Jamie Walsh (who in fairness took the fight on short notice) and won a unanimous decision.

Oisin Sweeney and Lawerence Ward were both badly let down as Oisins fighter never showed and Lawerences guy was way over weight but they both ended up in exciting exhibition fights and got to show their skills. Corey O Malley was on fire also and after some hard exchanges in the first round, he settled well in the second and stopped his opponent with a knee strike. Tom Scarrys bid to become a two weight champion was twarted by Michael Morrow who won by the tightest of margins in a decision that really could have gone either way. Damien Creavin had a great battle with much improved Carlow fighter Eoin Maher and both men landed some impressive shots but this night belonged to Eoin.

Whitney Sheppard had a war with Waterfords Megan Maher in a NO Pads Unified rules fight which went down to the wire with Whitney taking the decision. James Kelly and Adam Abduraham had a great main event and Adam proved he had a good chin as James landed some shots that would have knocked a horse out. The fight went the distance with James taking a unanimous victory. Julian Cregniot was not interested in any overtime this evening and he caught his opponent Shane Burns with a fantastic head kick at 23 seconds of the very first round to take the win by TKO.

Big thanks also to our own Black Dragon crew and everyone who worked hard putting the show together and to all officials who travelled from all over the country, also the Oranmore Civil Defence (who worked hard all evening) and to our ringside doctor, Doctor Oscar De Souza. Thanks to our lovely ring girls Grace & Ally, our ladies on the door Sinead, Leona & Natalie, our glove runners Roisin & Leona, our MC Alan, our DJ (supplied by Pa Murphy) and to the Clayton hotel management and staff.

Big thanks also to the fight fans who kept a fantastic atmosphere throughout the show. Huge shout also to our own Dave Greeley who videoed the show and streamed it live with hundreds of people watching around the globe. Our next big show in Galway is on Sept 24 with a mandatory first defence of Paul “The Hurricane” Huish’s World K-1 Title to England’s superstar Edward Smith. This show will also feature several more title fights so keep the date free.